The unexpected popularity that sneaks up on movies like 'Carnival of Souls' is a double-edged sword. The positive aspects, of course, are renewed interest in undeservedly forgotten and neglected gems, as well as gloriously informative 2-disc DVD editions put out by Criterion. The negative result, however, is that the glowing aura created by the excitement and publicity of rediscovery often outshines the actual value of the given film, leaving one feeling underwhelmed.
This happened for me with 'Carnival of Souls,' which is undeniably a film that has a creepy and eerie effect, but is also a film that is slight and does not stand up against the reputation that now precedes it. Movies like this work best when encountered casually on television late at night, where one might be blindsided by its hypnotic pull. When one goes to it after having read adjectives like "creepy" and "eerie" applied to it, the movie is confronted by expectations which are likely to be disappointed. And while the Criterion edition offers an insanely satisfying cache of supplements, having access to materials such as interviews with director Herk Harvey, detailed backstory, production stills, advertising materials, and television documentaries on the film and on the current condition of the locations used offers a sense of comfort and reassurance that destroys the movie's mystique.
The paper-thin story follows a young church organist named Mary who survives a nasty car wreck and leaves town to take a job in Utah, where she lodges in a boarding house and fends off the aggressive advances of her across-the-hall neighbor. Strange things begin happening to Mary. She is haunted by visions of a ghastly-looking stranger, is entranced by a decaying nearby bathhouse/carnival grounds long abandoned, and experiences inexplicable episodes where sounds of the outside world are suddenly muted and others fail to notice or respond to her.
The movie's most notable attribute is its skill in establishing atmosphere and a sense of dread. Yet, there's no payoff, and while that's okay, the movie is modest and, at 78 minutes (or 83, if you're watching the director's cut), rather short. If you come to this movie from a position of curiosity, there's a danger of being left with a "that's it?" sort of feeling.
The element I found most intriguing was the pointed passivity of the Mary character. Indifferent to her job and to those around her, Mary is completely detached, and the movie very nearly becomes a character study of a schizoid personality. Surprisingly, the parts that were most engaging for me involved Mary's across-the-hall neighbor, a man named John Linden who is alcoholic, persistent, and very, very horny. Linden's scenes all entail his trying to get into Mary's pants, and he is almost jarringly sexually coercive -- a rapist in the making. Screenwriter John Clifford and actor Sidney Bergen invest this character with an unexpected degree of dimension. If the movie obviously foretells Romero's 'Night of the Living Dead,' it also hints at 'Repulsion.'
There are a great many tasty lost artifacts from the prime of drive-in fare and B-movies, some of which get ostentatiously found and marketed as cult films, thus depriving one of the pleasure of personal discovery. The less you know about 'Carnival of Souls' before viewing it, the more likely you are to enjoy it.
This happened for me with 'Carnival of Souls,' which is undeniably a film that has a creepy and eerie effect, but is also a film that is slight and does not stand up against the reputation that now precedes it. Movies like this work best when encountered casually on television late at night, where one might be blindsided by its hypnotic pull. When one goes to it after having read adjectives like "creepy" and "eerie" applied to it, the movie is confronted by expectations which are likely to be disappointed. And while the Criterion edition offers an insanely satisfying cache of supplements, having access to materials such as interviews with director Herk Harvey, detailed backstory, production stills, advertising materials, and television documentaries on the film and on the current condition of the locations used offers a sense of comfort and reassurance that destroys the movie's mystique.
The paper-thin story follows a young church organist named Mary who survives a nasty car wreck and leaves town to take a job in Utah, where she lodges in a boarding house and fends off the aggressive advances of her across-the-hall neighbor. Strange things begin happening to Mary. She is haunted by visions of a ghastly-looking stranger, is entranced by a decaying nearby bathhouse/carnival grounds long abandoned, and experiences inexplicable episodes where sounds of the outside world are suddenly muted and others fail to notice or respond to her.
The movie's most notable attribute is its skill in establishing atmosphere and a sense of dread. Yet, there's no payoff, and while that's okay, the movie is modest and, at 78 minutes (or 83, if you're watching the director's cut), rather short. If you come to this movie from a position of curiosity, there's a danger of being left with a "that's it?" sort of feeling.
The element I found most intriguing was the pointed passivity of the Mary character. Indifferent to her job and to those around her, Mary is completely detached, and the movie very nearly becomes a character study of a schizoid personality. Surprisingly, the parts that were most engaging for me involved Mary's across-the-hall neighbor, a man named John Linden who is alcoholic, persistent, and very, very horny. Linden's scenes all entail his trying to get into Mary's pants, and he is almost jarringly sexually coercive -- a rapist in the making. Screenwriter John Clifford and actor Sidney Bergen invest this character with an unexpected degree of dimension. If the movie obviously foretells Romero's 'Night of the Living Dead,' it also hints at 'Repulsion.'
There are a great many tasty lost artifacts from the prime of drive-in fare and B-movies, some of which get ostentatiously found and marketed as cult films, thus depriving one of the pleasure of personal discovery. The less you know about 'Carnival of Souls' before viewing it, the more likely you are to enjoy it.